Refrigerator

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator includes a rotating bar configured to seal a gap between one pair of doors. The rotating bar includes a case provided with an accommodating space therein while having one surface thereof open, a heat insulation member accommodated in the accommodating space, a cover configured to cover the one surface of the case that is open, and a metallic plate being coupled to an outer side of the cover. The cover includes a heat conduction blocking part being protruded to both sides of the metallic plate while having a bent-shape cross section so as to prevent heat from being transmitted to both side surfaces of the rotating bar after being heat conducted along the metallic plate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2012-0027186, filed on Mar. 16, 2012, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a refrigerator having arotating bar configured to seal a gap formed between a pair of doorsthereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a refrigerator is a household appliance having a storagecompartment to store food, and a cool air supplying apparatus to supplycool air to the storage compartment to store the food in a fresh manner.The refrigerator, according to the type of the storage compartment and adoor thereof, may be provided with the type thereof classified.

A TMF (Top Mounted Freezer)-type refrigerator is provided therein with astorage compartment that is divided into an upper side and a lower sideby a horizontal partition while a freezing compartment is formed at theupper side and a refrigerating compartment is formed at the lower side,and a BMF (Bottom Mounted Freezer)-type refrigerator is provided with arefrigerating compartment formed at the upper side while a freezingcompartment is formed at the lower side.

In addition, a SBS (Side By Side)-type refrigerator is provided thereinwith a storage compartment that is divided into an left side and a rightside by a vertical partition while a freezing compartment is formed atone side and a refrigerating compartment is formed at the other side,and a FDR (French Door Refrigerator)-type refrigerator is providedtherein with a storage compartment that is divided into an upper sideand a lower side by a horizontal partition while a refrigeratingcompartment is formed at the upper side and a freezing compartment isformed at the lower side, as the refrigerating compartment at the upperside is open/closed by a pair of doors.

Meanwhile, at a door of a refrigerator, a gasket is provided to seal agap which is being spaced apart between the door and the body of therefrigerator when the door is closed. However, with respect to theFDR-type refrigerator, the refrigerating compartment at the upper sideis open and closed by a pair of doors, but the refrigerating compartmentis not provided therein with a vertical partition, and thus a gap formedbetween the pair of doors may not be sealed by the gasket. So, as toseal the gap which is being spaced apart between the pair of doors assuch, a rotating bar rotatably installed at one of the pair of the doorsis suggested.

The rotating bar as such, when the pair of doors is closed, is beingrotated in a horizontal state with respect to the pair of doors to sealthe gap in between the pair of doors, and when one door provided withthe rotating bar installed thereto is open, the rotating bar is beingrotated in a vertical state with respect to the other door, so that therotating bar is not being interfered at the other door, which is notprovided with the rotating bar installed thereto.

Meanwhile, at the rotating bar as such, a heat insulation memberconfigured to block cool air from being discharged from a storagecompartment, a plate formed with metallic material to come into closecontact with the gasket installed at a rear surface of the door, and aheat generating member configured to radiate heat to prevent frost fromforming at the metallic plate are included.

An example of the refrigerator as such has been suggested in the U.S.Pat. No. 7,008,032. However, in the refrigerator in accordance with theabove publication, the heat of the heat generating member isheat-conducted through the plate to the both edges of the rotating bar,and finally, is penetrated to an inside the storage compartment, therebylowering the thermal efficiency of the refrigerator.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide astructure of a rotating bar having an enhanced insulation performance.

It is another aspect of the present disclosure to provide a structure ofa rotating bar configured to prevent the heat generated at a heatgenerating member from being delivered to a storage compartment.

It is still another aspect of the present disclosure to provide astructure of a rotating bar configured to reduce energy by decreasingthe heat loss of a heat insulation member.

Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in thedescription which follows and, in part, will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigeratorincludes a body, a storage compartment, a first door, a second door, afirst gasket, a second gasket, and a rotating bar. The storagecompartment may be formed at an inside the body while having a frontsurface thereof open. The first door may be configured to open/close aportion of the front surface of the storage compartment that is open.The second door may be configured to open/close a remaining portion ofthe front surface of the storage compartment that is open. The firstgasket may be installed at a rear surface of the first door to seal agap formed between the first door and the body. The second gasket may beinstalled at a rear surface of the second door to seal a gap formedbetween the second door and the body. The rotating bar may be rotatablycoupled to the first door to seal a gap formed between the first doorand the second door in a state that the first door and the second doorare closed. The rotating bar may include a case, a heat insulationmember, a cover, a metallic plate and a heat generating member. The casemay be provided with an accommodating space therein, and have onesurface thereof open. The heat insulation member may be accommodated inthe accommodating space. The cover may be coupled to the one surface ofthe case that is open. The metallic plate may be coupled to an outerside of the cover. The heat generating member may be configured toprevent frost formation on the metallic plate. The cover may include aheat conduction blocking part being protruded to both sides of themetallic plate to prevent heat of the heat generating member from beingpenetrated into the storage compartment after being heat conducted alongthe metallic plate.

The metallic plate may include a gasket close-contact part and a firstcoupling part. The gasket close-contact part may come into close contactwith the first gasket and the second gasket. The first coupling part maybe coupled to the cover while being bent inwardly from the gasketclose-contact part. The heat conduction blocking part and the gasketclose-contact part may form a same flat surface.

The cover may include a second coupling part being bent inwardly fromthe heat conduction blocking part so that the first coupling part iscoupled to the second coupling part.

The cover may be formed as an integral body.

The cover may be provided with a constant thickness, and a length of theheat conduction blocking part of the cover may be larger than thethickness of the cover.

The cover may be formed of non-metallic material having a heatconductivity rate lower than a heat conductivity rate of the metallicplate.

The heat generating member may be disposed at a space formed by thegasket close-contact part and the first coupling part.

The heat generating member may be a heating cable.

The heat generating member may be disposed in a line-contact manner withthe metallic plate to prevent heat from being excessively transferred tothe metallic plate.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, arefrigerator includes a body, a storage compartment, a first door, asecond door, a first gasket, a second gasket and a rotating bar. Thestorage compartment may be formed at an inside the body while having afront surface thereof open. The first door may be configured toopen/close a portion of the front surface of the storage compartmentthat is open. The second door may be configured to open/close aremaining portion of the front surface of the storage compartment thatis open. The first gasket may be disposed at a rear surface of the firstdoor to seal a gap formed between the first door and the body. Thesecond gasket may be installed at a rear surface of the second door toseal a gap formed between the second door and the body. The rotating barmay be rotatably coupled to the first door to seal a gap formed betweenthe first door and the second door in a state that the first door andthe second door are closed. The rotating bar may include a metallicplate, a heat generating member and a cover. The metallic plate may forma portion of a rear surface of the rotating bar that comes into closecontact with the first gasket and the second gasket. The heat generatingmember may be configured to prevent frost formation on the metallicplate. The cover may be bent to form a remaining portion of the rearsurface of the rotating bar and at least one portion of a side surfaceof the rotating bar.

The metallic plate may form a central portion of the rear surface of therotating bar, and the cover may form both side edge portions of the rearsurface of the rotating bar.

The cover may be provided with a constant thickness. A length of theremaining portion of the rear surface of the rotating bar formed by thecover may be larger than the thickness of the cover.

The cover may be formed of non-metallic material having a heatconductivity rate lower than a heat conductivity rate of the metallicplate.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, arefrigerator includes a body, a storage compartment, a second door, afirst gasket, a second gasket and a rotating bar. The storagecompartment may be formed at an inside the body while having a frontsurface thereof open. The first door may be configured to open/close aportion of the front surface of the storage compartment that is open.The second door may be configured to open/close a remaining portion ofthe front surface of the storage compartment that is open. The firstgasket may be installed at a rear surface of the first door to seal agap formed between the first door and the body. The second gasket may beinstalled at a rear surface of the second door to seal a gap formedbetween the second door and the body. The rotating bar may be rotatablycoupled to the first door to seal a gap formed between the first doorand the second door in a state that the first door and the second doorare closed. The rotating bar may include a case, a heat insulationmember, a metallic plate, a heat generating member, and a heatinsulation film. The case may be provided with an accommodating spacetherein, and have one surface thereof open. The heat insulation membermay be accommodated in the accommodating space. The metallic plate maybe coupled to the one surface of the case that is open. The heatgenerating member may be configured to prevent frost formation on themetallic plate. The heat insulation film may be formed on an exposedsurface of the metallic plate to prevent heat of the heat generatingmember from penetrating to the storage compartment after beingheat-conducted to both side surfaces of the rotating bar along themetallic plate.

The heat insulation film may be provided with a predetermined thicknessor less, so that the rotating bar comes into close contact with thefirst gasket and the second gasket by magnetic force of magnets of thefirst gasket and the second gasket in a state that the first door isclosed.

The heat generating member may be a heating cable.

The heat generating member may be disposed in a line-contacted mannerwith the metallic plate to prevent heat from excessively beingtransferred to the metallic plate.

The heat generating member may be surrounded by the heat insulationmember except for a portion being in contact with the metallic plate.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, with respect toa rotating bar configured to open and close the gap in between a pair ofdoors, the heat generated at a heat generating member of the rotatingbar may be prevented from penetrating into an inside a storagecompartment.

Thus, the heat loss of the heat insulation member is reduced, and theenergy needed to prevent frost formation on the plate of the rotatingbar is reduced.

Thus, since warm air is not being penetrated to an inside the storagecompartment through the rotating bar, the insulation performance of therotating bar is increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent andmore readily appreciated from the following description of theembodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating a front of a refrigerator in accordancewith one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of a rotatingbar of the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of the rotating bar of therefrigerator of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the rotating bar of the refrigeratorof FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a rotating bar of a refrigerator inaccordance with another aspect of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 6 to 9 are drawings to describe the operation of a rotating bar ofthe refrigerator of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a drawing showing a structure of an insertion protrusion ofthe rotating bar of the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 11 to 12 are drawings to describe a vertical movement of theinsertion protrusion of the rotating bar of the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout.

FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating a front of a refrigerator in accordancewith one aspect of the present disclosure. By referring to FIG. 1, arefrigerator 1 in accordance with one embodiment of the presentdisclosure includes a body 10, storage compartment 20 and 30 dividedlyinto an upper side and a lower side at an inside the body 10, doors 31,40, and 50 configured to open/close the storage compartments 20 and 30,and a cool air supplying apparatus (not shown) to supply cool air to thestorage compartments 20 and 30.

The body 10 may include an inner case forming the storage compartments20 and 30, an outer case forming an exterior appearance by being coupledto an outer side of the inner case, and a heat insulation member foamedin between the inner case and the outer case and configured to thermallyinsulate the storage compartments 20 and 30 from each other.

The cool air supplying apparatus (not shown) may generate cool air byusing a cooling circulation cycle configured to compress, condense,expand, and evaporate refrigerant.

The storage compartments 20 and 30 may be provided with a front surfacethereof open, and may be partitioned into the refrigerating compartment20 at the upper side and the freezing compartment 30 at the lower side.The refrigerating compartment 20 may be open and closed by a pair ofdoors 40 and 50 that are rotatably coupled to the body 10, and thefreezing compartment 30 may be open and closed by a sliding door 31slidably mounted at the body 10.

The pair of doors 40 and 50 configured to open and close therefrigerating compartment 20 may be disposed side by side. Hereinafter,for the sake of convenience, the left side door 40 on the drawing isreferred to as the first door 40 and the right side door 50 on thedrawing is referred to as the second door 50.

The first door 40 is configured to open and close a left portion of thefront surface of the refrigerating compartment 20 that is open, and thesecond door 50 is configured to open and close the remaining portion ofthe front surface of the refrigerating compartment 20 that is open. Doorshelves 41 and 51 are provided at the rear surfaces of the first door 40and the second door 50, respectively, to store foods. In addition, atthe rims of the rear surfaces of the first door 40 and the second door50, gaskets 42 and 52 are provided, respectively, to seal the gap withrespect to the body 10 in a state that the first door 40 and the seconddoor 50 are closed.

The gaskets 42 and 52 may be installed in a shape of a loop along therims of the rear surfaces of the first door 40 and the second door 50,respectively, and at an inside the gaskets 42 and 52 r magnets (42 a and52 a in FIGS. 4 and 5) may be included, respectively.

Meanwhile, in a state of the first door 40 and the second door 50closed, a gap may be formed between the first door 40 and the seconddoor 50, and in order to seal the gap as such, a rotating bar 100 isrotatably mounted at the first door 40.

The rotating bar 100 as such is provided in a shape of a bar formed inlengthways along the height direction of the first door 40, and may berotated by a guide part 60 provided at the body 10. The guide part 60 ofthe body 10 may include a guide body (61 in FIG. 6) coupled to the body10, and a guide groove (62 in FIG. 6) formed at the guide body 61.Hereinafter, the structure and the operation of the rotating bar 100 assuch will be described.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of a rotatingbar of the refrigerator of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an assembled perspectiveview of a rotating bar of the refrigerator of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is across-sectional view of a rotating bar of the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

By referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the rotating bar 100 includes a case 110having an accommodating space 110 a and provided with one surfacethereof open, a heat insulation member 120 accommodated in theaccommodating space 110 a of the case 110, a cover 130 coupled to theone open surface of the case 110, a metallic plate 150 coupled to anouter side of the cover 130, and a heat generating member 140 disposedat a space in between the cover 130 and the metallic plate 150.

The case 110 is configured to form an exterior appearance of therotating bar 100, and may be provided at an inside thereof with theaccommodating space 110 a having one surface open, and the one opensurface of the rotating bar 100 may be covered by the cover 130. A hingebracket coupling part 110 b to which a hinge bracket (70 in FIG. 6) iscoupled may be provided at the case 110.

The hinge bracket 70 may include a fixing part (71 in FIG. 6) fixed tothe rear surface of the first door 40, and a hinge bar (72 in FIG. 6)configured to connect the fixing part 71 to the rotating bar 100, sothat the rotating bar 100 is rotated on a rotation shaft (73 in FIG. 6).The fixing part 71 may be coupled to the rear surface of the first door40 by use of a connecting member such as a screw.

In addition, at an upper surface of the case 110, a passage part 112 maybe provided, so that an insertion protrusion 161 being inserted into theguide groove (62 in FIG. 6) of the guide part (60 in FIG. 6) may beprotruded to an outside the case 110. The passage part 112 may beprovided in a form of a hole having the same shape as the insertionprotrusion 161.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the guide part 60 is formedat an upper portion of the body 10 while the insertion protrusion 161 isprotruded toward an upper side of the rotating bar 100. However, theguide part 60 may be formed at a lower portion of the body 10 while theinsertion protrusion 161 may be protruded toward a lower side of therotating bar 100. In this case, the passage part 112 of the case 110 mayalso be formed at a lower surface of the case 110. The case 110 as suchmay be injection-molded using plastic material as an integrated body.

The heat insulation member 120 is configured to thermally insulate therefrigerating compartment 20, and may be formed of the EPS (ExpandedPolyStyrene) material having superior insulation performance and lightweight. The heat insulation member 120, after being formed in anapproximate shape to be inserted into the accommodating space 110 a ofthe case 110, may be inserted into the accommodating space 110 a of thecase 110.

The cover 130 is configured to cover the one surface of the case 110that is open, and may be coupled to the one open surface of the case 110after the heat insulation member 120 is inserted into the accommodatingspace 110 a of the case 110.

As illustrated on FIG. 4, the cover 130 is provided with a cross sectionobtained by being bent a number of times, and forms a portion of theside surface and a portion of the rear surface of the rotating bar 100.Here, the rear surface of the rotating bar 100 is referred to as thesurface facing the gaskets 42 and 52 of the doors 41 and 51.

In detail, the cover 130 includes a heat insulation member close-contactpart 131 being in contact with the heat insulation member 120, a secondcoupling part 132 to which the metallic plate 150, which will bedescribed later, is coupled, a heat conduction blocking part 133protruded toward the metallic plate 150, and a side surface forming part134 forming at least one portion of the side surface of the rotating bar100. The cover 130 as such is formed of plastic material having low heatconductivity, and may be injection-molded in an integrated form.

The metallic plate 150 may be coupled to an outer side of the cover 130as such, and the metallic plate 150 is formed of metallic material so asto come into close contact with the gaskets 42 and 52 by the magneticforce of the magnets 42 a and 52 a included at the gaskets 42 and 52,and to provide rigidity to the rotating bar 100.

The metallic plate 150 may include a first coupling part 151 beingcoupled to the second coupling part 132, and a gasket close-contact part152 coming into close contact with the gaskets 42 and 52. The firstcoupling part 151 of the metallic plate 150 is coupled to the secondcoupling part 132 of the cover 130 by a connecting member such as ascrew or by an adhesive member.

Meanwhile, the heat generating member 140, which is configured togenerate heat to prevent frost from being formed at the metallic plate150 due to the temperature difference between the inside and the outsidethe refrigerating compartment 40, may be disposed at a space beingformed by the first coupling part 151 of the metallic plate 150 and thegasket close-contact part 152 of the metallic plate 150.

Here, as to prevent the heat generated at the heat generating member 140from being excessively delivered to the metallic plate 150, the heatgenerating member may be implemented by a heating cable 140, whichincludes a heating wire covered with non-conductive material such assilicon or an FEP (Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene).

Thus, the heat generating member 140, so as to deliver the minimumamount of heat to the metallic plate 150 to prevent frost from formingon the metallic plate 150, may be disposed in line-contact with themetallic plate 150 instead of being surface-contacted with the metallicplate 150.

Meanwhile, the heat conduction blocking part 133 of the cover 130 andthe gasket close-contact part 152 of the metallic plate 150, both ofwhich are previously described, form the rear surface of the rotatingbar 100. The central portion of the rear surface of the rotating bar 100is being formed by the gasket close-contact part 152 of the metallicplate 150, and the surrounding portion of the both sides of the rearsurface of the rotating bar 100 is being formed by the heat conductionblocking part 133 of the cover 130.

The heat conduction blocking part 133 of the cover 130, as to preventthe heat, which is being conducted along the gasket close-contact part152 of the metallic plate 150, from being conducted to the side surfaceof the rotating bar 100, is needed to be provided with a predeterminedlength ‘L’.

The length ‘L’ of the heat conduction blocking part 133 of the cover 130is provided to be approximately larger than the thickness ‘D’ of thecover 130, and within the limit that the metallic plate 150 comes intoclose contact with the gaskets 42 and 52 by the magnetic force of themagnets 42 a and 52 a that are included at the gaskets 42 and 52, thelength of the gasket close-contact part 152 of the metallic plate 150may be reduced while the length I′ of the heat conduction blocking part133 of the cover 130 may be expanded.

While provided with the structure as the above, in a state of the firstdoor 40 and the second door 50 are closed, the rotating bar 100 comesinto close contact with the gaskets 42 and 52 of the first door 40 andthe second door 50 to seal the gap in between the first door 40 and thesecond door 50, and may also minimize the heat, which is generated atthe heat generating member 140 of the rotating bar 100, from penetratingto an inside the refrigerating compartment 20.

Thus, the insulation performance of the rotating bar 100 is enhancedwhile the heat loss of the heat generating member 140 is minimized,thereby able to save the energy configured to prevent frost from formingat the rotating bar 100.

Meanwhile, sealing members (170 and 180 in FIG. 2) may be provided at anupper end and at a lower end of the rotating bar 100, respectively, toseal a gap formed between the rotating bar 100 and the body 10 in astate of the doors 40 and 50 are closed.

The sealing member 170 of the upper end and the sealing member 180 ofthe lower end may include blocking walls 171 and 172, respectively,which protrude to seal the gap in between the guide part 60 of the body10 and the rotating bar 100 in a state that the door 40 is closed.

As illustrated in one embodiment of FIG. 12 of the present disclosure,in a case when the guide part 60 is provided at an upper portion of thebody 10, the sealing member 170 may seal the gap in between the guidepart 60 and the rotating bar 100.

The sealing members 170 and 180 as such may be formed of flexiblematerial such as rubber to seal the gap in between the body 10 and therotating bar 100 in a smooth manner without damage by a collision.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a rotating bar of a refrigerator inaccordance with another aspect of the present disclosure. By referringto FIG. 5, the structure of a rotating bar in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The samestructures will be provided with the same reference numerals while thedescriptions thereof may be omitted.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, therotating bar 100 includes a case 110 provided with an accommodatingspace formed at an inside thereof and having one surface thereof open, aheat insulation member 120 accommodated in the accommodating space ofthe case 110, a metallic plate 150 coupled to the one open surface ofthe case 110, a heat generating member 140 configured to radiate heat toprevent frost from forming on the metallic plate 150, and a heatinsulation film 190 formed at a surface of the metallic plate 150 beingexposed to the outside.

The heat insulation film 190 is configured to increase the heatresistance of the metallic plate 150 so as to prevent the heat generatedat the heat generating member 140 from penetrating to the refrigeratingcompartment 20 after being delivered along the metallic plate 150 to theboth side surfaces of the rotating bar, and the heat insulation film 190may be formed of material having a low heat conductivity.

The heat insulation film 190 may be formed on the surface of themetallic plate 150 through a method such as a coating, or may be formedby attaching processed material having a shape of a thin panel to themetallic plate 150.

However, the heat insulation film 190 is needed to be provided with athickness less than a predetermined thickness, so that, in a state ofthe first door 40 and the second door 50 are closed, the rotating barmay come into close contact with the gaskets 42 and 52 by the magneticforce of the magnets 42 a and 52 a that are included at the gaskets 42and 52.

As for the heat generating member 140, a heating cable may be used, andby being line-contacted with the metallic plate 150, may supply theminimum amount of heat needed to prevent frost from forming at themetallic plate 150. The heat generating member 140, except for the areathat is being line-contacted with the metallic plate 150, is disposed ina way to be surrounded by the heat insulation member 120, therebyminimizing heat loss.

FIGS. 6 to 9 are drawings to describe the operation of the rotating barof the refrigerator of FIG. 1. By referring to FIGS. 6 to 9, the motionof the rotating bar of the refrigerator in accordance with oneembodiment of the present disclosure will be described in brief.

FIG. 6 illustrates a normal position of the rotating bar 100 in a statethat the door 40 is open, FIG. 7 illustrates a process of the first door40 being closed from the state of FIG. 6, and

FIG. 8 illustrates a state of the first door 40 and the second door 50being closed.

FIG. 9 illustrates an abnormal position of the rotating bar 100 in astate that the first door 40 is open.

As illustrated on FIG. 6, in a state that the first door 40 is open, thenormal position of the rotating bar 100 is a position at which the rearsurface of the rotating bar 100 is approximately perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction of the first door 40. Hereinafter, the positionas such is referred to as a vertical position.

In a state that the rotating bar 100 is at the vertical position, as thefirst door 40 is closed, as illustrated on FIG. 7, the insertionprotrusion 161 of the rotating bar 100 may be entered into an inside theguide groove 62 through a guide groove entry 63 of the guide part 60that is provided at the body 10.

The insertion protrusion 161 that is entered into an inside the guidegroove 62 is rotated along the curved surface of the guide groove 62,and as the insertion protrusion 161 rotates, the rotating bar 100 isalso rotated.

Finally, as illustrated on FIG. 8, when the first door 40 is completelyclosed, the rear surface of rotating bar 100 is disposed in anapproximately horizontal to the longitudinal direction of the first door40 and of the second door 50, and thus the rotating bar 100 comes intoclose contact with the gaskets 42 and 52, thereby able to seal the gapin between the first door 40 and the second door 50. Hereinafter, theposition of the rotating bar 100 as such will be referred to as ahorizontal position.

Finally, in the process of the first door 40 being closed, the rotatingbar 100, in the order of sequence as illustrated on FIG. 6, FIG. 7, andFIG. 8, is rotated in clockwise direction on the drawings.

In addition, on the contrary, in the process of the first door 40 beingopen, the rotating bar 100, in the order of sequence of FIG. 8, FIG. 7,and FIG. 6, is rotated in the counter-clockwise direction with respectto the drawings, and in the state of the first door 40 is completelyopen, the rotating bar 100 is disposed at the vertical position.

As the above, as the rotating bar 100 is disposed at the verticalposition, the first door 40, even in a state of the second door 50 beingclosed, may be closed without having the rotating bar 100 beinginterfered by the second door 50, and in addition, the insertionprotrusion 161 of the rotating bar 100 may enter into the guide groove62 through the guide groove entry 63.

However, in a state that the first door 40 is open, the rotating bar 100may be disposed at the horizontal position due to an erroneous operationby a user. In this case, in the process of the first door 40 beingclosed, the rotating bar 100 may be interfered by the second door 50. Inaddition, even if the rotating bar 100 does interfere with the seconddoor 50 since the second door 50 is open, the insertion protrusion 161may not be able to enter the guide groove 62 through the guide grooveentry part 63, and may collide with the guide body 61.

Thus, the first door 40 is not being completed closed, and the cool airof the refrigerating compartment 20 may be discharged, thereby causing adamage on the insertion protrusion 161.

Thus, the insertion protrusion 161 of the rotating bar 100 of therefrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosureis configured to be vertically movable, so that the insertion protrusion161 is inserted into the guide groove 62 without being collided with theguide body 61 even in a state of the rotating bar 100 being at thehorizontal position. The structure of the insertion protrusion 161 assuch will be described hereinafter.

FIG. 10 is a drawing showing a structure of the insertion protrusion ofthe rotating bar of the refrigerator of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 11 to 12 aredrawings to describe a vertical movement of the insertion protrusion ofthe rotating bar of the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

By referring to FIGS. 10 to 12, the insertion protrusion 161 includes abody part 166 disposed at an inside the rotating bar 100, a protrusionpart 164 protruded to the outside the rotating bar 100 through thepassage part 112, a stopper part 165 to prevent the insertion protrusion161 from being separated to the outside the rotating bar 100, and aninclined surface 163 formed at the protrusion part 164.

The body part 166 is provided at an inside thereof with a hollownessinto which an elastic member 162 may be inserted, and the insertionprotrusion 161 is elastically biased by the elastic member 162 in astate that the protrusion part 164 is protruded to the outside therotating bar 100.

At the case 110 of the rotating bar 100, a supporting part 111 tosupport the elastic member 162 is provided, and also a supporting bar111 a is protruded from the supporting part 111. At the body part 166, asupporting bar 166 a is provided to support the elastic member 162.

The protrusion part 164 is provided with an approximately same shape asthe passage part 112 while provided with a size smaller than the size ofthe passage part 112 so as to be able to pass through the passage part112. The protrusion part 164 may be provided with the stopper part 165to limit the protrusion range of the protrusion part 164 to the outsideof the protrusion part 164.

The inclined surface 163 formed at the protrusion part 164 is configuredto convert horizontal force into vertical force, and is configured in away that the insertion protrusion 161 may move vertically by thehorizontal pressing force of the guide body 61 in the process of thefirst door 40 being closed while the rotating bar 100 is at thehorizontal position.

Thus, as illustrated on FIG. 9, if the first door 40 is closed in astate of the rotating bar 100 is at the horizontal position, theinsertion protrusion 161 is collided with the guide body 61, and maydescend by the pressing force of the guide body 61.

In the state as such, when the first door 40 is completely closed, theinsertion protrusion 161 is ascended by the restoration force of theelastic member 162, and may be inserted into the guide groove 62.

According to the structure as the above, the first door 40 of therefrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, even in a state that the rotating bar 100 is rotated to thehorizontal position, may be closed without interference. Thus, the userconvenience is enhanced, and the cool air loss due to the incompleteclosing of the doors 40 and 50 may be prevented.

Although a few embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown anddescribed, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in these embodiments without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is definedin the claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A refrigerator, comprising: a body; a storagecompartment formed at an inside the body while having a front surfacethereof open; a first door configured to open/close a portion of thefront surface of the storage compartment that is open; a second doorconfigured to open/close a remaining portion of the front surface of thestorage compartment that is open; a first gasket installed at a rearsurface of the first door to seal a gap formed between the first doorand the body; a second gasket installed at a rear surface of the seconddoor to seal a gap formed between the second door and the body; and arotating bar rotatably coupled to the first door to seal a gap formedbetween the first door and the second door in a state that the firstdoor and the second door are closed, wherein the rotating bar comprisesa case provided with an accommodating space therein, and having onesurface thereof open; a heat insulation member accommodated in theaccommodating space; a cover being coupled to the one surface of thecase that is open; a metallic plate being coupled to an outer side ofthe cover; and a heat generating member configured to prevent frostformation on the metallic plate, and wherein the cover comprises a heatconduction blocking part being protruded to both sides of the metallicplate to prevent heat of the heat generating member from beingpenetrated into the storage compartment after being heat conducted alongthe metallic plate.
 2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein: themetallic plate comprises a gasket close-contact part coming into closecontact with the first gasket and the second gasket, and a firstcoupling part being coupled to the cover while being bent inwardly fromthe gasket close-contact part, and the heat conduction blocking part andthe gasket close-contact part form a same flat surface.
 3. Therefrigerator of claim 2, wherein: the cover comprises a second couplingpart being bent inwardly from the heat conduction blocking part so thatthe first coupling part is coupled to the second coupling part.
 4. Therefrigerator of claim 1, wherein: the cover is formed as an integralbody.
 5. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein: the cover is providedwith a constant thickness, and a length of the heat conduction blockingpart of the cover is larger than the thickness of the cover.
 6. Therefrigerator of claim 1, wherein: the cover is formed of non-metallicmaterial having a heat conductivity rate lower than a heat conductivityrate of the metallic plate.
 7. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein: theheat generating member is disposed at a space formed by the gasketclose-contact part and the first coupling part.
 8. The refrigerator ofclaim 1, wherein: the heat generating member is a heating cable.
 9. Therefrigerator of claim 1, wherein: the heat generating member is disposedto be line-contacted with the metallic plate to prevent heat from beingexcessively transferred to the metallic plate.
 10. A refrigerator,comprising: a body; a storage compartment formed at an inside the bodywhile having a front surface thereof open; a first door configured toopen/close a portion of the front surface of the storage compartmentthat is open; a second door configured to open/close a remaining portionof the front surface of the storage compartment that is open; a firstgasket disposed at a rear surface of the first door to seal a gap formedbetween the first door and the body; a second gasket installed at a rearsurface of the second door to seal a gap formed between the second doorand the body; and a rotating bar rotatably coupled to the first door toseal a gap formed between the first door and the second door in a statethat the first door and the second door are closed, wherein the rotatingbar comprises a metallic plate forming a portion of a rear surface ofthe rotating bar that comes into close contact with the first gasket andthe second gasket; a heat generating member configured to prevent frostformation on the metallic plate; a cover being bent to form a remainingportion of the rear surface of the rotating bar and at least one portionof a side surface of the rotating bar.
 11. The refrigerator of claim 10,wherein: the metallic plate forms a central portion of the rear surfaceof the rotating bar, and the cover forms both side edge portions of therear surface of the rotating bar.
 12. The refrigerator of claim 10,wherein: the cover is provided with a constant thickness, and a lengthof the remaining portion of the rear surface of the rotating bar formedby the cover is larger than the thickness of the cover.
 13. Therefrigerator of claim 10, wherein: the cover is formed of non-metallicmaterial having a heat conductivity rate lower than a heat conductivityrate of the metallic plate.
 14. A refrigerator, comprising: a body; astorage compartment formed at an inside the body while having a frontsurface thereof open; a first door configured to open/close a portion ofthe front surface of the storage compartment that is open; a second doorconfigured to open/close a remaining portion of the front surface of thestorage compartment that is open; a first gasket installed at a rearsurface of the first door to seal a gap formed between the first doorand the body; a second gasket installed at a rear surface of the seconddoor to seal a gap formed between the second door and the body; and arotating bar rotatably coupled to the first door to seal a gap formedbetween the first door and the second door in a state that the firstdoor and the second door are closed, wherein the rotating bar comprisesa case provided with an accommodating space therein, and having onesurface thereof open; a heat insulation member accommodated in theaccommodating space; a metallic plate being coupled to the one surfaceof the case that is open; a heat generating member configured to preventfrost formation on the metallic plate; and a heat insulation film beingformed on an exposed surface of the metallic plate to prevent heat ofthe heat generating member from penetrating to the storage compartmentafter being heat-conducted to both side surfaces of the rotating baralong the metallic plate.
 15. The refrigerator of claim 14, wherein: theheat insulation film is provided with a predetermined thickness or less,so that the rotating bar comes into close contact with the first gasketand the second gasket by magnetic force of magnets of the first gasketand the second gasket in a state that the first door is closed.
 16. Therefrigerator of claim 14, wherein: the heat generating member is aheating cable.
 17. The refrigerator of claim 14, wherein: the heatgenerating member is disposed to be line-contacted with the metallicplate to prevent heat from excessively being transferred to the metallicplate.
 18. The refrigerator of claim 14, wherein: the heat generatingmember is surrounded by the heat insulation member except for a portionbeing in contact with the metallic plate.
 19. A rotating bar formed inbetween doors of a refrigerator to close a gap therebetween, therotating bar comprising: a case having an open side; a heat insulationmember accommodated within the case; a cover to cover the open side; ametallic plate coupled to an outer side of the cover; and a heatgenerating formed in line contact with the metallic plate, wherein thecover comprises heat conduction blocking parts formed on both sides ofthe metallic plate.
 20. The rotating bar of claim 19, wherein themetallic plate includes inwardly-bent coupling parts and the metallicplate is positioned in a channel formed in the cover in between the heatconduction blocking parts, and the metallic plate and heat conductionblocking parts form an outwardly flat planar surface.
 21. The rotatingbar of claim 19, wherein a length of each of the heat conductionblocking parts of the cover is larger than a thickness of the cover. 22.The rotating bar of claim 19, wherein the cover is formed ofnon-metallic material having a heat conductivity rate lower than a heatconductivity rate of the metallic plate.
 23. The rotating bar claim 20,wherein the heat generating member is disposed in the channel formed inthe cover in between the heat conduction blocking parts.